A look at the Spurs week ahead

by Tyler Clerkin, Spurs Zone

Golden State Warriors' Kevin Durant (35) celebrates a basket against the San Antonio Spurs during the second half in Game 4 of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals, Monday, May 22, 2017, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

The San Antonio Spurs were able to finish last week with a record of 2-2. This brings them to an overall record of 34-21 which has them sitting third in the Western Conference.

After playing some great talent last week, the Spurs only play two games this week to kick off the annual Rodeo Road Trip. Although it’s just a few games, they are going up against some great talent.

Let’s take a look at this upcoming week for the Spurs.

Spurs vs Phoenix Suns:

The Spurs begin their week on Wednesday traveling to Phoenix to face off against the Suns. Going into the contest the Spurs are a perfect 3-0 against the Suns this season as they look to sweep the series.

Although the Spurs have yet to lose a game to the Suns, their second game was one that could have gone either way. The other two were handled by the Spurs winning by at least 12 points in both outings.

The stand out players for Spurs against the Suns this season are LaMarcus Aldridge and Patty Mills.

Aldridge has only played in two of the three games, but when he plays he makes his presence known. He is averaging 20.5 points, nine rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game. It is also worth noting that he is shooting 52% from the field and getting to the line at least six times per game.

Mills has been lethul for the Spurs as well by averaging 13 points per game, including a 20 point game in their second matchup. He did struggle during their last meeting by only scoring two points.

The true test for the Spurs will be containing young star Devin Booker for the Suns. Booker is entering this game having a great year averaging 24.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists per game.

This will be the last time the two teams face off this season.

Spurs vs Golden State Warriors:

The second game for the Spurs this week is against the Golden State Warriors. And so far this season, the Spurs have struggled to keep up with the defending champions.

Going into the contest the series is 0-1 to the Warriors after a 20 point blowout in San Antonio. The Warriors were led by Klay Thompson scoring 27 points in the win.

The Spurs had a lot of problems during this game, but a few stand out more than others. The first being their field goal percentage. The Spurs were only able to connect on 34 shots which resulted in an underwhelming percentage of 39.1%.

The next being their turnovers. The Spurs threw the ball away 16 times to the Warriors which led to multiple transition buckets.

Going into this next game, the Spurs have their backs against the walls as they travel to Oakland. The Warriors currently have a home record of 19-6 while the Spurs have a record on the road of 12-15.

This week is a slow one, but will still prove to be a good test for the Spurs. Be sure to follow @News4SA for all of the latest updates from your San Antonio Spurs.